Changing You ✦ 𝑍.𝐷.𝐻.

Chapter 48 {Z & R}

Even though I had wiped the tear stains off my face before walking over to her, she scanned over my face like she could still see them.

I could tell she was searching for my eyes, but I avoided hers at all costs, feeling vulnerable under her gaze. Silently, I reached up to the chains that kept her arms tied above her head, and struggled to get the key in the padlock because of my still trembling fingers.

Riley didn't say a word. Maybe because she was trying to process the things she had learned about me in the past ten minutes. Maybe because she couldn't bring herself to, since she now knew what I was capable of.

The padlock opened with a soft click. Breathing out in relief, I started untangling the chains from the wooden beam.

As soon as the pulling on her arms disappeared, they came crashing down. Not ready to carry herself all at once, Riley lost her balance and threatened to fall forward.

I let the chains clatter onto the ground so I could catch her. "It's okay, I got you," I said softly, steadying her by her upper arms.

I watched her head start to fall back, her eyes rolling inside her head. My hand found the back of her neck. "Hey, Riley, look at me."

She fought against the weight pulling at her eyelids and tried to focus her hazy eyes on mine. I could tell by the movements of her pupils that the room was spinning before her eyes.

I glanced down towards her hands, the thick, metal handcuffs still keeping them tied together. While supporting her, I searched for the key that belonged to them.

Riley flinched when the handcuffs opened and I slid them off her wrists with caution. My eyes ran over the damaged skin that got revealed. You could tell exactly where she had been tied up by the fresh, red marks and the places where the sharp edges had cut into her skin.

I looked up at her without realising I was holding her hands in mine. "Can you stand?"

Now she was the one avoiding eye contact. She shook her head with such a small movement I had almost missed it.

"It's okay," I said softly and glanced over my shoulder towards the table. "Come on." Gently tugging at her hands, I urged her to step forward.

Her right leg gave in as soon as she leaned on it, and she grabbed onto my arms. I finally noticed the wound in the back of her lower leg. Both red and black blood mingled themselves as they streamed down from her knee cavity in trickling lines. A purple glow laid within the bullet wound and I felt myself freeze.

They had been captured for three days. If the wolfsbane had been inside both her and Daniel's body that long, the poison had had enough time to find its way into their bloodstream. If that was the case, they weren't only hurt on the outside. I didn't want to know the terrible damage that had been done to their insides.

We reached the table and she clung onto it for support. I stepped aside and tried to help her turn so she could lean against it. My heartbeat faltered the second I caught a glimpse of her back, seeing that the bottom half of her shirt had been ripped open. Raw and weeping flesh in various shades of pink and red laid out in the open, scattered around the skin of her back. Yet, there was no blood anywhere. Burn wounds.

My eyes shot up to hers. "Who did that to you?" I asked sharply. "My dad?"

A grimace formed on her face as she leaned her behind against the rim of the table. Without looking back at me, she silently shook her head.